If you’re an Android or mobile game developer, much can go into the entire process and you likely want to do everything you can to ensure a successful launch of your game, as well continued and consistent future engagement from users while monetizing the game to bring in revenue. There are multiple ways to monetize your game from Android marketing to payment models, which can be difficult to do, given that a large number of mobile gamers don’t spend money on the games they play. Monetizing your game is important however, but you also don’t want to alienate your players with tactics that lessen the user experience.
Part of successfully monetizing your mobile game is understanding why the users that do spend money on games do so, which can be for numerous different reasons whether it’s to unlock the full game content after completing a trial period of the free version of games, or to purchase in-game content to enhance the overall play experience of a full free to play title. It’s important to remember that in addition to understanding how you can employ strategies to monetize your users, that the game is fun to keep players coming back for more.
There are multiple tactics and strategies to help you monetize your users which can include personalized and relevant advertising that appeals to those users preferences, utilizing in-app purchases and making sure your game design feels comfortable and responsive when gamers play. While many people feel ads are intrusive, if implemented correctly they can feel more relevant and less annoying. You want your ads to let users know about whatever you’re trying to tell them about your game, whether it be for purchasable in-game content or other games, but you don’t want your ads to bombard users too often as this can turn of players. A great advertising model can tie in fairly nicely with the implementation of in-app purchases and help to drive users towards making those purchases.
While you definitely want to have a good plan set aside for advertising models and payment models for your game, keeping users engaged must be at the forefront of your strategy, as gamers who aren’t playing have no opportunity to be monetized. There is no one answer to keeping everyone engaged, and not everyone will want to stay engaged as not every game will appeal to all types of players. You can, however, do your best to engage as many users as possible. No matter how you cut it, users play games to get some sort of reward or satisfaction. Making sure the loss of the time spent playing is outweighed by the rewards factor and enjoyment that is obtained from playing is crucial to keeping users coming back to play consistently.
One way to do this could be through daily, weekly, and monthly rewards for items to use in-game, if the user comes back to login on a consistent basis. Another way, while not tangible, could be implementing achievements for players to unlock as they can give off a sense of satisfaction for completing certain things. Instant gratification is also another thing to consider. Utilizing things like tutorials can be a great way to make new players feel at ease with games they don’t understand quite yet, but the option to completely skip past these tutorials for players who are already familiar with the game style should not be left out. It gives off the instant gratification of diving right into the game and being able to play and experience everything first hand the way it was meant to be. In addition to engagement strategies, you also want to know who your target market is for the games you’re creating, and try to gauge how much time they might spend playing. As you want to keep players engaged it’s also important to engage with your players, by responding to user feedback and reviews, and taking into consideration the complaints or suggestions for your game that might help some users enjoy the game more. Communication between you and your users is key.